Data store
A data store is a repository for persistently storing and managing collections of data which include not just repositories like databases, but also simpler store types such as simple files, emails, etc.[1]
A database is a collection of data that is managed by a database management system (DBMS), though the term can sometime more generally refer to any collection of data that is stored and accessed electronically. A file is a series of bytes that is managed by a file system. Thus, any database or file is a series of bytes that, once stored, is called a data store.
MATLAB[2] and Cloud Storage systems like VMware,[3] Firefox OS[4] use datastore as a term for abstracting collections of data inside their respective applications.
Types
Data store can refer to a broad class of storage systems including:
- Paper files
 - Simple files like a spreadsheet
 - File systems
 - Email storage systems (both server and client systems)
 - Databases
- Relational databases, based on the relational model of data
 - Object-oriented databases. They can save objects of an object-oriented design.
 - NoSQL databases
 
 - Distributed data stores
 - Directory services
 - VMware uses the term datastore to refer to a file that stores a virtual machine[5]
 
See also
References
- ↑ "Glossary D: data store". Information Management. http://www.information-management.com/glossary/d.html. "A place where data is stored; data at rest. A generic term that includes databases and flat files."
 - ↑ "Datastore - MATLAB & Simulink". http://in.mathworks.com/help/matlab/datastore.html.
 - ↑ VMware (2016-01-11). "Managed Object - Datastore". VMware. https://www.vmware.com/support/developer/vc-sdk/visdk41pubs/ApiReference/vim.Datastore.html.
 - ↑ "Data Store API". https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Data_Store_API.
 - ↑ "Managed Object Description". Pubs.vmware.com. http://pubs.vmware.com/vi3/sdk/ReferenceGuide/vim.Datastore.html.
 

